Introduction
The team has been working hard on the development of the product, Simple Event Planner (SEP). Throughout the process of developing, the team gained and learnt from the various problems encountered, because problems later became learning points. The team learnt that software design was a crucial stage in product development and that for a successful product demonstration, the selling point of the product has to be not only identified but also well analyzed.
Importance of Software Design
A good software design is not easy to achieve as many considerations needs to be taken into account to. Still, the team managed to finish the necessary software designs, such as the architecture diagram, the class diagram and the sequence diagrams. Furthermore, because there was a clear idea and well-timed plan for the implementation of the product, the team was able to proceed with the implementation of various portions of the product at the same time. This maximized the resources that the team had and allowed for a smooth implementation process.
Despite that team already specifying the software design, there were much needed modifications done during the implementation process. Thus, it was important for the team to constantly update the software design, especially the low level designs, such as the product APIs. This was essential towards the wholesome implementation of the product because whenever the team made references to the product APIs and other relevant updated information, the whole team would be at the same stage of progress.
Selling Point of the product
A software demonstration is considered successful only when the targeted audience is left wanting and desperate to purchase the revealed product.
To achieve that, the team must have a complete understanding of the product and the issues faced by prospects and other customers. This aids in connecting with the audience. Well-told stories are always successful with audiences, so the team chose to demonstrate the software with a story-based structure. Finally, as always, practice, practice and more practice for a flawless presentation.
The team must let the audience come to a consensus that the team is a smart, self-aware group of people doing worthwhile things and ‘why’ the product would matter to them. This is crucial in creating a ‘eureka’ moment for at least one member of the audience. This person would then leave with a mission to take part in the product’s success, either by providing a critical feature idea, a hire candidate, potential partnership, or — in the case of a demonstration to investors — the desire to fight to invest.
Conclusion
Given the opportunity to develop a workable product as a team, I was able to put theory into practice. With that, I have a clearer and better understanding of the theory and thus, am able to better appreciate knowledge taught by lecturers. For example, I had previously not realized that software design had such great impact on the developing process. It was this hands-on experience that provided these new insights.
Being an experienced developer, I was able to avoid repeated mistakes, allowing me to save more time on debugging, which is a process that at times seemed to be quite frustrating.
Furthermore, now fully aware of the key points for a successful software demonstration, I am sure to put it into good use and practice hard to achieve my goals for the demonstrations.
